Livin' the Dream in Lima

I've got two favorite restaurants here in the Bean Town - Viva Maria   and  Thai Jasmine . Pizza/pasta and Thai noodle dishes... what can I say, I like carbs. Much to my demise, Viva Maria closed  a few weeks ago! They opened a small quick-service stand in the mall, and I have been told they are "searching for a new sit-down location." Either way, I was totally bummed. My absolute favorite dish to order at Viva Maria was the Dominic's White Pizza,  topped with fresh garlic, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. The best bite was the thick chewy crust with the sweet ricotta cheese. Man, I miss that pizza. Last week, I decided that I just couldn't live without the Dominic's White Pizza, so I re-created it myself. And while this pizza wasn't exactly  like Viva Maria's, it was pretty darn close! It definitely satisfied the craving.  Stolen from  my Instagram account... I need to bake this pizza in the daylight so I can tak...

Why carb-loading, you ask? Besides the fact that I'm pretty much always  carb-loading. I start training for a marathon #2  tomorrow! Yes, I am going after a second marathon, even after the not-so-great experience with the Flying Pig . (Hitting the wall at mile 17 is never fun. Especially when you're soaking wet.) I'm in the pink. I will be running the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon on Saturday, April 28 in Champagin-Urbana, IL. It is supposedly a "fast & flat" course, which will be so nice after the hills of Cincinnati last year. Plus, I get to finish on the U of I Memorial Stadium! It's just 1.5 hours from my parents' house, so I'll be able to coerce them into coming to cheer me on as well. I'm also trying to convince my BFF Talen to come out and run the half (or the full!) so we can reminisce our time spent in hotels the night before big cross country & track meets. And you know, just spend some QT together.  I've...